The Fuse should be 7.5. Speedo Cables were interchangeable for many Years from 1957-about 1970. Only real Difference was the Length, There's a good One on Ebay for $22.00.292825486115. Just check the Length. That One is 84" but listed for 1957 Passenger Car. If You don't have a Shop Manual You really should get One. Lot of Information including Radio and Speedo. I bought One from Rock Auto for my 56. Better Price than many I have seen listed elsewhere. 

  

There is a fuse holder on the radio power line with no fuse in it, any idea what size fuse I should use?
Also need to replace the speedo cable. Where would a good source be?

New Guy

Yep but if his radio has sat for a long time it might need to be recapped like mine.


1956 Ford Fairlane Town Sedan - 292 Y8 - Ford-O-Matic - 155,000 mi

Probably stuck...Once You remove the retaining clip on the transmission Case there's nothing else to keep it from coming out. Try spraying some penetrating type oil into the hole in Case. You can grasp the outer cable and try and Wiggle it out. There's a Rubber "O" Ring around the end Piece of the Cable.which may be why its not coming out easily. Spray it and try it.

  

I ordered the diagram. Should get it Thursday.
Found the temperature sensor. Thanks
Working on the speedometer cable. Tried to pull it out of the transmission and comes out about a quarter inch and stops. Is that normal or is it stuck? I don't want to force it.
New Guy

Thanks Supercharged, the wiring under the dash is a mess. There are about five wires just hanging with plugs on the ends and two wires coming from the radio unhooked. I have a friend that repairs and builds tube amps if the radio doesn't work he would love to work on it. I will check out that ebay listing.

Tedward 

Sender Unit should be on the inside edge of Head towards the back near the Firewall. It may have One Terminal or 2. Only One is used. Should be a feed Wire from the Firewall. The Radio should have a Power Feed with an Inline Fuse in it.That comes from the Accessory Position on Ignition Switch. Second Wire from the Radio is for the Light when Headlights are on. Should be a live Connector under Dash when the Headlights are on. May be other Wires plugged in together. Use a Test Light to find it . Should be Live only when Headlights are on. Output for Speaker is a Pin Type Plug  on the Side of Radio. 2 Conductor Wire. Hopefully no One has messed with Wiring under Dash. Keep in mind these Radios are Tube Type and take a few Minutes to Warm up. They don't come on right away.  If no Sound at first just wait a few Minutes. There's a really good Source for Wiring Diagram on Ebay. Listing # 362502429642. I bought 2 for my 56 and buddy;'s 56. Original colors used for Wiring and big enough that You can clearly see where Wires go. Very useful especially if Someone has messed with your Wiring.

  

Replaced the points, rotor, condenser, and plugs. It now idles smoothly and doesn't cut out at all. And now timing is at 8 degrees.
Thanks for the help.
Next fix, I noticed the temperature gauge has stopped working. It did work earlier. Trying to locate the sensor. Is it on the side of the block or in the top of the intake  manifold? A lot of the wires have been spliced with different colored wires and I'm having troubles tracing them.
Also, are there any wiring diagrams for the radio? The diagrams I have found don't have the radio included.
Tedward   

Ok, I checked the push rods and valves and they all work. Out of curiosity I hooked up the timing light to number one plug wire and watched the flashes and noticed that it would miss one occasionally, did the same with #2,#3,#4 wires and noticed the same behavior. I'm guessing I need to replace the points, rotor, and condenser next?

Tedward  

I would think you need to replace the points and the condenser with quality units. Just my two cents. Once that distributor is free, I would suggest pulling it out completely, check for wear, check the vacuum advance, and replace the points and condenser. Then install on #1 TDC and time accordingly. If you have good, clean fuel getting to the carb, and you just rebuilt your carb, the easiest check on limiting the RPM increase of your engine would be the fuel delivery and the spark (and volume/timing of same). Compression may not be what you need it to be, but even with less than optimal compression you should not be "cutting out" as you say.

The main reason I am thinking ignition components is because of your word "erratically".



Daniel Jessup

Lancaster, California

aka "The Hot Rod Reverend"
check out the 1955 Ford Fairlane build at www.hotrodreverend.com